Morning Light
by quinnovative
Summary: When Kara's upset she goes looking for Alex and this time, finds Maggie instead.


Maggie drags herself over the threshold of Alex's apartment, ditching her shoes by the door and dropping her bag a few feet later, striping off her jacket and tossing it over a chair, leaving a trail behind her as she moves into the bedroom and changes into pajamas before falling onto Alex's couch. After a four am wakeup call the previous morning and only three hours of sleep between her days, she's thoroughly exhausted—limbs all heavy and eyes drooping closed.

She curls beneath a blanket as the sun begins dipping below the horizon. She knows Alex will be home late tonight, received the call earlier about DEO paperwork and procedures and formalities. Maggie and Alex spend so much time in each other's apartments that they practically live together now, even if they haven't said it officially, and Monday nights are always done at Alex's so now Maggie's here and snuggled on the couch with a smile on her face, fully intent on passing out to _Friends_ reruns until her girlfriend comes home.

The weight of fatigue presses heavy against her eyelids and not ten minutes later she feels them fall closed. With a small tug of the blanket more tightly around her body, Maggie slips helpless into slumber.

…

It's dark outside when Kara stumbles through the window, vision blurred by pooling tears, and drags a hand across her eyes. The moon is high in the sky, the majority of National City tucked in beds and asleep, safe and still breathing, the way they should be.

Light spills from the TV and Kara moves toward it, wanting nothing more than to fall against her sister. She shuffles through the darkness, eyes drooping open and closed as she makes her way to the couch by memory and collapses, without looking, onto Alex tucked beneath a thick blanket.

She heaves a heavy sigh, half-way pushing her nose against Alex's shoulder when the woman makes a surprised noise and shifts beneath Kara and—

The blonde looks down. Her features contort in surprises, eyes red rimmed and watery and suddenly wide. "You're not Alex."

The detective gives a small laugh, rubbing a loose fist across her eyes. "Nope."

"You're Maggie."

"Yep," she says, smiling as she sits up and shakes off the foggy remnants of sleep in her head.

Kara moves off the couch, standing unsteadily while her tears are temporarily masked by the flush of embarrassment blooming across her already pink cheeks. She really likes Maggie—loves her fierceness, her competitiveness during game nights, and the passionate words she swears at the TV during particularly dramatic shows and sports matches; but most of all Kara loves the way Maggie makes Alex feel, loves to see her sister so happy. She can't mess this up, can't scare Maggie away with her years of baggage and sadness and guilt that washes up, consistent and continual like the tide.

Kara's cried in front of Maggie before, but never without Alex there (except the one time Kara cried over a commercial when Alex was in the bathroom, leaving Maggie and Kara alone. But in the blonde's defense she was going through a lot and there were _dogs_ in the commercial, mom dogs taking care of _puppies_ ).

This time though, Alex is working late and she's absent and Kara feels this heavy weight in her chest and a lump in her throat that coils more tightly with each passing minute and she _knows_ she's going to lose it soon and she _knows_ it's going to be bad, so she needs to get away before she ruins something else. She drops her gaze down toward her feet and speaks through gasps for breath. "I…sorry… I should… I'll go…"

"Wait, no," Maggie gently loops a hand around Kara's wrist. "You're crying." She's not great with comforting people or tears, but this is _Kara,_ this is _family_ now and Maggie would do anything to erase the anguish etched across the face of this woman she's grown to love like a little sister.

It's her job now, just as it's been Alex's for so long, to make sure Kara's okay, to help her. Because even though Kara's the girl of steel, she's also the girl who lost her planet and her parents and mingles with death and loss and immorality of humanity every day.

Kara shrugs at Maggie's words and as much as she fights, her lips pull down and she bites to try to keep them steady. But the quivering grows and the tears spill and suddenly she's shaking.

Maggie, hand still on Kara's wrist, tugs her back onto the couch. "Little Danvers, what's wrong?"

"I couldn't save them," she lets out in a watery murmur, breath hitching and eyes cast downward. Maggie pulls her into a hug, running her hand up and down the younger woman's back as her sharp exhales stutter against Maggie's shoulder and her tears splatter against the woman's pajama shirt, an old police academy tee.

"Oh, Kara." Maggie feels her heart breaking, knows from the faint scent of smoke and tear tracks carving their way through soot on Kara's cheeks that the blonde is referring to the fire that had broken out earlier as a result of a massive car crash. Maggie knows that despite Kara's best efforts people were lost; knows from Kara's battered state that it's been tormenting her all day after she'd excused herself from a DEO meeting and spent the next few hours exhausting herself to near oblivion as she zipped through the skies. "You did everything you could. You did—you did good, you did well."

Kara shakes her head against Maggie's shoulder. "No," she gasps out.

"You saved lives, Kara, a lot of them. It wasn't your fault."

Another sob bubbles from Kara's lungs in response and she grasps Maggie, fingers curling around the gray fabric of the woman's t-shirt and clutching dark locks of mused hair. Maggie holds her, whispering reassurances and rubbing her back. "You can't save everyone, Little Danvers," Maggie whispers. "But I know you'll always try and that's how things are, that's what makes you super, Supergirl."

"It hurts," Kara murmurs as her breath begins to even out.

"I know."

Kara hugs Maggie tighter.

When the cries ebb away and Kara straightens up, Maggie brushes the remaining tears off Kara's cheeks with the pad of her thumb. "How about you go wash up real quick, steal some pajamas from me or Alex, and meet me back here?"

Kara nods and they stand up together, Maggie watches as Kara disappears from view, wanting to make sure the younger woman is okay before Maggie moves into the kitchen.

She makes hot chocolate for Kara, topped with mini marshmallows, and fixes coffee for herself, she's getting that droopy feeling in her eyes and limbs again and she want to make sure she's awake right now when Kara needs somebody, needs her.

Kara emerges a minute later, face clear of soot and body now clad in pajamas. A small smile turns up the corners of her lips when Maggie hands her the mug of hot chocolate. "Marshmallows?" she says in surprise, gaze shifting from the cup to Maggie.

"Of course." Maggie nudges Kara's side playfully.

"I knew I liked you for a reason," the blonde teases, seeming almost normal again as she sips her coco and Maggie flips through the channels. She could have fooled someone perhaps, if it wasn't for the shallow little breaths that make spontaneous reappearances or the ghost of tears that brim in Kara's eyes before she blinks them away, or the clinginess that's extreme even for Kara, the grip that is desperate and the need for closeness that grows more drastic as fatigue twists around Kara like tendrils of steam.

Some minutes pass, edge close to an hour by the time Kara finally gives way to sleep and Maggie's thankful to some extent, rest should do the youngest Danvers well. Maggie's on the verge of sleep herself an hour later, fingers running soothingly over Kara's back when the door cracks open and Alex is met with the sight of her girlfriend buried beneath a mop of Kara's blonde hair.

Alex's brows raise in amusement, lips smirking. In the light of the TV she makes out Kara sprawled entirely across Maggie's small body, one arm dangling off the couch and face nuzzled against the detective's collarbone. But then Kara lets out a whimper in her sleep, suddenly gripping Maggie tighter and Alex feature's fall in concern. "Mags, what happened?"

"She's upset over the accident earlier today, the people she couldn't get to in time."

Alex nods in understanding. She's seen Kara like this before, knows that the blonde has never developed an insensitivity to the lost lives and misfortunes and tragedies she so regularly encounters.

"She came in and collapsed onto me on the couch, thought I was you."

Alex hangs up her coat and makes her way over. "Sorry."

Maggie loosens her grip on Kara to shake off Alex's apology with a dismissive wave. "It's nothing, it's sad to see her like this."

"I know," Alex says, nodding in agreement. She kneels in front of the couch, placing a warm hand on Kara's shoulder and gently shaking her awake.

"Hey," Alex says voice soft, giving her sister a warm smile when Kara opens her eyes and turns around. "Hey, Kara." She brushes blonde hair out of the woman's face and tucks it behind her ear.

Kara blinks and sleepily reaches for Alex. She's transferred from Maggie's arms to Alex's just as quickly as she'd fallen apart mere hours earlier and finds herself hugging Alex, her lethargic senses concerned only with the two other heartbeats in the room. Snuggled between Alex and Maggie later that night, Kara lets those two heartbeats lull her back to sleep.

She doesn't wake until sunshine showers through the window, morning light dancing across her features, and when she does both women are there. One on each side.


End file.
